


Waiting for you to see me

by LiteratureLocker



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: F/F, and they're adorable, angsty, because they're idiots in love, these two need more stories, with a side of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteratureLocker/pseuds/LiteratureLocker
Summary: Ruby Riott made her return to RAW and it should have been a happy reunion with her best friend.  It should have been a lot of things: triumphant, heartwarming, and a celebration.  But what no one expected was for Ruby to attack Liv in the middle of the ring.  Not even Ruby herself saw it coming.  The real question now, was why?
Relationships: Liv Morgan/Ruby Riot | Heidi Lovelace
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	Waiting for you to see me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RelentlassHuggerSquad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/gifts).



> Okay, so this one's for my buddy: RelentlassHuggerSquad. Hope you enjoy it!

Ruby sat in the locker room that they had given her for the night. It was something that she and creative had decided on, that she should be out of sight until it was time for her to go down to the ring to announce her return after Liv’s match. They both felt that she would get a bigger pop out of both the audience and the other wrestlers if they didn’t know she was here until she was walking down that ramp to the ring. 

They had shuffled her into the arena super early before anyone else had started showing up, and had made sure that hair and makeup had come to her. That was hours ago, and now she was finally lacing up her boots and preparing herself to make the walk to Gorilla. 

She took a second to relish the feeling of putting her boots on again after so long. It had been a year. One long-ass year full of surgeries, physical therapy, and pain. So much pain that the prescribed pain killers weren’t doing shit for her. 

But then again, that could be because all of the pain she was feeling wasn’t only because of her surgeries. 

It had been a year since she sat in a locker room. A year since she had put on her gear. A year since she had a match or cut a promo. But none of that mattered because it had also been damn near a year since she spoke to someone who was supposed to be her best friend. 

The memory of the last day she had been around Liv was still strong in her memory.

________

  
  


_ Ruby couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she walked back up the ramp and into Gorilla. She could hear Sarah and Liv walking up behind her, and she was grateful that Creative had agreed to let her go out on a win. Even if it was at a house match, they gave the Squad a win to send Ruby off to get her shoulder fixed.  _

_ She was thanking the other wrestlers who were back there congratulating her when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind. She couldn’t stop herself from leaning back into the touch she constantly craved, the touch that made her feel whole but also tore her apart on the inside.  _

_ “You were amazing out there Rue-Rue!” _

_ Ruby chuckled as she placed her hands on Liv’s arms. “It wasn’t all me, you know. It was a tag team match.” _

_ “I know,” Liv protested as she leaned forward and kissed Ruby on the cheek. “But you still looked the strongest out of all of us. That Riott Kick at the end was a thing of beauty!” _

_ Ruby shook her head and sighed. “I am going to miss it, that’s for sure.” _

_ “Aw, come on now. You won’t be gone that long,” Sarah said as she walked past them towards the locker room. “Besides, we’ll still be here when you get back.” _

_ “Yeah,” Liv hurried to reassure Ruby. “We’ll talk all the time. I’ll Facetime you after my matches and we’ll talk on the phone. And anytime we’re near your place, I’ll make sure to stop by and visit. It’ll be like you never left.” _

_ Ruby nodded, Liv’s energy was infectious and she could never bring herself to disappoint or upset the blonde. Which is why she had vowed to suffer in silence with how she really felt about her fellow squad-mate. “I guess you’re right. It’s not like we don’t text and talk all the time already.” _

_ “See?” Liv asked as she let Ruby out of the hug and took her hand to lead her towards the locker room so they could grab their gear. “It won’t be too hard. Sure, Sarah and I will miss you, but you’ll heal up real quick and be back here kicking ass with us in no time.” _

  
  


_ _________ _

  
  
  


Ruby sighed and stood up. There wasn’t any reason for her to be thinking about the past. Because that’s all that it was at this point. A fond memory for her to look back on and smile about, even if it pierced her heart every time she thought about it. 

Even with all the promises and attempts to keep in touch, that wasn’t what happened at all. Creative had decided to split the Squad up, Liv and Sarah disappeared from TV and Ruby had gotten told that the doctors wanted to repair both shoulders while she was out. 

It made sense logically for them to do both shoulders while she was out. That way she wasn’t sent back to work for a little bit before having to go back out to repair her left shoulder too. So yes, she agreed with the doctor’s thought process, but that meant that she was going to be out a lot longer than she had originally thought.

She had Facetimed Liv as soon as she left the doctor's office. The blonde was the only one that Ruby wanted to tell, the only one that Ruby wanted to reassure her that it was alright. She was the only one that Ruby ever wanted to talk to when she was having a bad day. And she had been having a really bad one. Her right shoulder was on fire and her mood was in the dumpster.

So she had called Liv in an attempt to raise her spirits a little bit and indulge in the feeling of safety and security she always got around the most hyper member of their oddball family. Liv had picked up after the second ring, and she was smiling, happy to be looking at Ruby.

The smile didn’t stay long once Ruby had told her the news. Instead of reassuring Ruby that everything would be okay, that  _ she  _ would be okay without Ruby for a little longer, Liv had made a flimsy excuse to get off the phone as soon as possible. All texting and phone calls seemed to cease after that.

Ruby had tried not to take it personally. The life of a wrestler was a busy one between training, house shows, live shows, and travel. So it was to be expected that there would be some missed calls and a few unanswered texts. But this was Liv full-on ghosting her. She hadn’t wanted to believe it, hadn’t wanted to think that little of the woman she had feelings for, but there wasn’t any other explanation for it.

Then two months ago, right before Ruby was to get cleared to come back, the last Raw of the year aired. And Ruby’s heart was ripped out of her chest, stomped on and then handed back to her in pieces she would never be able to recognize.

  
  


__________

  
  


_ “Did you know?” _

_ “Ruby, come on.” _

_ “No Sarah, did you know?” Ruby demanded as she paced in her living room. She had been so excited when Liv had been hinting at coming back to the ring after reinventing herself. Granted, Ruby hadn’t been thrilled about all the talk Liv had been doing about how the Squad held her back, but Ruby understood that sometimes Creative gave you some shitty things to say to push the drama between characters.  _

_ She had been watching Raw every week since the first teaser promo had hit, her heart racing every time Liv had shown up. She would have been lying if she said it hadn’t been exhilarating to see Liv in a bathtub either. But Ruby had pushed that to the side just like she had with so many other feelings she felt around the blonde. Liv had made it clear that she wasn’t into women, let alone Ruby. So Ruby had bitten her tongue and hidden how she felt for years. Only for it to be thrown back in her face. _

_ Turns out Liv was into women. And it turns out, she was in love. _

_ But not with Ruby, who had been so patient with her. Ruby, who had waited so long for the blonde to realize that Ruby had been standing there the whole time. Ruby, who had held the blonde together when things were falling apart, curbed her more reckless actions, and according to Liv even quieted her mind.  _

_ No, Liv wasn’t in love with Ruby. She was in love with Lana of all fucking people. _

_ That revelation had hit Ruby hard. It felt like razor blades soaked in acid were tearing her apart from the inside out, every time her tattered heart stuttered out a beat. Everything was on fire, everything was hurting, and yet everything felt numb. This couldn’t be happening. She must have mixed her painkillers with a muscle relaxer or something. She had to be hallucinating, having a fever dream… anything other than living in this horrific timeline where Ruby would have to watch the woman she loved, be with someone who would never come close to deserving her.  _

_ “Of course I didn’t know, Rue,” Sarah answered quietly. “You honestly think I wouldn’t have told you if I knew?” _

_ “Then how did this happen? I… I don’t understand,” Ruby whimpered as she sat down on her couch, the fight suddenly gone from inside her.  _

_ There was a long pause on the other end of the phone before Sarah finally answered. “I don’t know. She stopped talking to me when she stopped talking to you. I tried to stay with her, tried to get her to ride with me and Rowe, but she got good at ducking me.” _

_ “But Lana of all people…I just don’t get it.” _

_ “Listen to me Riott,” Sarah’s voice took on an edge that Ruby hadn’t heard in a while. “You and I both know that that fake blonde bimbo doesn’t deserve Liv’s time or attention. So you’re going to get cleared to compete and then you’re going to come back here and kick that phony Russian’s ass. You hear me?” _

_ Ruby couldn’t bring herself to answer with anything more than a nod.  _

_ “I didn’t hear you, Riott. Are you coming back to kick Lana’s ass or not?” _

_ “I am,” she whispered, her eyes focusing on the blank wall in front of her. _

_ “What was that? Are you going to get the Squad back together?” _

_ “I am,” Ruby said a little louder. _

_ “Are you going to prove to our girl that you two are meant to be together?” _

_ “I am,” Ruby declared with a firm nod.  _

  
  


___________

  
  


Ruby rolled some stiffness from her shoulders and opened her locker room door. It was showtime. Liv’s match was still going on, but it wasn’t slated to be a long one, so Ruby had to move. She ignored the looks from the other wrestlers as she marched herself through the hallways and towards the ramp. They would all have to wait a little longer for the answers they so desperately wanted. She had an ass to kick, and nothing was going to get in her way. 

She paced around until the final bell and then stopped moving and took a deep breath. It was now or never. She exhaled slowly, a grin bursting onto her face as her music hit and the roar of the crowd could be heard. She held her head high and practically sauntered out onto the stage, her hands gripping her jacket lapels tightly. 

This was a feeling she would never get used to. The nerves of performing mixed deliciously with the excitement from the crowd, making a delirious concoction of adrenaline that was addicting as fuck and always left her wanting more. She had expected a pop from the crowd because she had been gone so long, but what she was getting right now? This was beyond anything she could have imagined, and she stopped briefly at the top of the ramp to bask in that feeling. It was overwhelming. It was all-consuming. It was what she lived for. 

She tried to fight the grin that was on her face, even as tears were forming in her eyes. The crowd hadn’t quieted down yet, and it didn’t seem as if they were going to. But this particular segment hadn’t been slotted for longer than five minutes, so Ruby needed to get a move on, especially if she was going to give Lana the beat down of her life for touching her girl.

Taking a steadying breath, Ruby finally turned to look at the ring, her heart crashing to a halt when she saw the look of shock and absolute joy on Liv’s face at her being there. That stopped Ruby in her tracks. 

What right did Liv have to look like she had missed Ruby at all? What right did Liv have to be standing there like Ruby was the one who had cut all contact and left her alone? What right did Liv have to be standing there, next to the woman she apparently loved, looking at Ruby like she hung the stars in the sky, like she was the only one who mattered… like Ruby had always looked at Liv since they first met. 

The plan was simple. Creative realized how badly they had stepped in it by pushing Liv and Lana’s personal life into a storyline. It wasn’t one that the Universe wanted and it was making for a mess of a story with Bobby and Rusev tied in as well. So when Ruby had called Stephanie and all but demanded she be given a shot with Liv and Lana, Stephanie had readily agreed, even going so far as to tell Ruby to go get her girl, realizing that Ruby and Liv’s relationship would be much better for TV if they ever got that far. 

So the plan had been simple. Walk out, beat the living hell out of Lana, declare her love for her best friend and walk away into the sunset with Liv at her side. It’s what she planned, it’s what Sarah was pushing for, it was what Stephanie had given her blessing towards. But standing there at the top of the ramp with Liv looking at her like she might actually have a chance with the blonde? It made something deep within Ruby’s soul snap.

All the years of struggling to keep her emotions under control. All the years she spent acting like every touch, every kiss on the cheek, every hug from Liv hadn’t been what kept her going on the dark days. All the years she spent convincing herself that she would be okay just being Liv’s friend… all of those emotions, all of that fear and pain and hurt and anger finally found an outlet. And now that the doors were open, there was no stopping the flood of rage that overtook her. 

Those years, while happy and comfortable on some level, were also some of the hardest of Ruby’s life. Pretending that she wasn’t dying on the inside every minute of every day had been pure hell. Pretending that she didn’t need Liv’s touch, or Liv’s attention or Liv’s love to just keep functioning had been torture. She had needed Liv in a way that she thought Liv was incapable of providing. She had believed the blonde when she said she wasn’t into women “like that”. She had believed her and so had taken a few steps back while she tried to convince herself that it would be okay. As long as Liv was with her somehow, she would be fine.

But all of that changed, and Liv was suddenly into women “like that”. But it hadn’t been Ruby like she had been hoping and dreaming for. No, it was for Lana. That screeching banshee whose only relevance was to be pretty. Well, pretty in Vince McMahon’s eyes, because there wasn’t a damn thing that Lana did for Ruby on any level. But the fact that  _ that _ was what Liv had fallen for? That hurt.

So as Ruby stalked down the ramp towards her ex-best friend and the fake Russian standing in the corner of the ring, the plan got tossed right out the window and a new plan formed. Liv needed to understand the pain she had put Ruby through. She needed to understand everything Ruby had been feeling for years. She needed to understand the love that Ruby felt, the rejection, the loneliness, and pain, and betrayal. And the only way that Ruby could think of to teach her that? Simple. Betray Liv like Liv had betrayed her.

The new plan was easy enough to execute. She smiled at Liv like she was happy to see her and when the smaller woman stepped in to hug her, Ruby grabbed her around her throat and threw her into a chokeslam. Then the actual beating began. 

Rage was the only thing that Ruby felt, red the only color that Ruby saw as she rained blows down on Liv who was desperately trying to protect herself from Ruby’s attack. Ruby didn’t hear the screams coming from the blonde, or when Liv begged her to stop. She ignored all of it. Liv needed to understand what Ruby was feeling. She needed to know.

After a minute of her non-stop assault, Ruby stood and slid out of the ring. She marched herself back up the ramp, her head held high amidst the boos from the crowd. Stephanie would surely have something to say about this, but Ruby couldn’t care less.

The weight of her love for Liv the weight that had been dragging her down since the beginning was finally set free. Ruby was done with the blonde, and she could finally breathe again.

  
  


____________________________________________________________________________

  
  


Liv sat in the middle of the ring. She didn’t watch as the referees pushed Lana away from her and back up the ramp, instead keeping her eyes focused on the top of the ramp, hoping beyond hope that Ruby would come back out. 

  
It had to have been a sick joke, right? There was  _ no way _ her Ruby would ever turn on her… right? Maybe it was a ploy to lull Lana into a false sense of security so that way when Ruby attacked, Lana would never see it coming. That had to be it, right?

But as Liv sat there, the pain in her back a searing reminder of what had just happened, the truth was starting to settle in. Ruby wasn’t coming back out to tell her she had made a mistake, that she was sorry but it was all part of the plan. Ruby wasn’t coming back because her Rue was gone. Whoever that was that had walked out here with that new look and that new green hair wasn’t her Rue. That was an imposter who stole her best friend’s face. 

Liv whimpered as she pulled herself to her feet and limped her way back up the ramp. She shouldered her way past several of the other superstars, ignoring the likes of Charlotte and Kairi who were trying to see if she was okay. The truth was, she wasn’t. But they didn’t need to know that. 

It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her wrist that she stopped and turned around to face the person. Sarah’s sad, inquisitive eyes were staring back at her, and Liv finally cracked. She sniffled as Sarah pulled her into a hug. 

“Why? I don’t get what just happened,” Liv whispered into her friend’s shoulder. “She’s back now, so the Squad should have been put back together! I don’t get it.”

“I know. It’s okay, Liv. We’ll figure it out,” Sarah whispered into her hair. 

“But it’s Ruby! Why did she attack me?” Liv continued to cry as Sarah led them to an empty room.

Sarah sighed as she closed the door and just held her friend. She knew exactly what had happened and why. She had tried to confront Ruby on it as soon as she walked backstage, but Ruby was still caught in her own little world and the anger was rolling off of her in waves. So Sarah had decided to wait to confront her about it. Instead, she had turned to the friend she knew would need her most. The problem was that she couldn’t tell Liv why Ruby was upset without breaking Ruby’s confidence. “Give her a day or two and then we can try talking to her okay? You’re right, it’s Ruby. There’s got to be a logical explanation for this. She wouldn’t do that without a good reason.”

Liv couldn’t believe that this was happening. She had been dying for Ruby to come back, but not like this. Never like this. Their relationship had been strained to say the least since Ruby had called to say that they were repairing both of her shoulders. It wasn’t that Liv hadn’t wanted to be there for her friend, but the idea of doing this job for a whole year without Ruby at her side had scared Liv so much that she had run. She couldn’t deal with that, couldn’t deal with the emotions that were warring inside of her, so she cut her losses and left.

The truth was that she needed Ruby. She needed the older woman by her side. Throughout her childhood, Liv’s mind had always been running a mile a minute. Her thoughts never really made sense and she constantly felt like she couldn’t concentrate. Her skin would also crawl if she had to sit still for too long. But when Ruby was there with her, everything calmed down and made sense. She provided Liv with a safe, judgment-free place for her to just be herself. And she kept Liv grounded in a way that no one else ever had. So when she heard that she would need to do this without Ruby for a whole year, she panicked.

But then when Ruby’s music hit tonight, Liv couldn’t help the joy that had spread through her. She couldn’t help the butterflies from erupting into motion like they always did when Ruby was around. Liv knew this whole time what that could mean, why her stomach did all those weird little flips whenever she heard Ruby’s voice or saw her face. She knew what it meant. But she also knew what it would sound like if she expressed those feelings out loud. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself, or to anyone else, because it scared her. 

If she said those three words out loud, if she admitted what she had always known, she was afraid it would change the dynamic of the Squad. And she couldn’t afford to lose the two women who had come to mean so much to her. Sarah and Ruby were her calm in the storm, her safe haven in this crazy world. Admitting that she had feelings for Ruby could tear her family apart. So she had swallowed those feelings, denied that she saw any woman that way, and tried to carry on like normal.

She thought she had gotten over it, had gotten past her feelings for her best friend. Admittedly, Lana was a distraction and she had fulfilled that role perfectly. Liv had never meant for there to be actual feelings involved. But somewhere along the line, after using Lana to try and fill the void that Ruby had left, Liv had fallen in love. It was embarrassing, she knew this. To have downgraded from feeling things for Ruby to feeling things for Lana, it wasn’t the best move she could have made. But Liv had wanted someone to love her, to hold her, to curb whatever bad thoughts she was having. And Lana had been there. 

Granted the Russian bombshell hadn’t been the best influence on Liv, and Liv was well aware of it. If anything, Lana made the voices in Liv’s head louder, more confusing as she enabled all of Liv’s self-destructive behavior and molded Liv into the person she wanted her to be… not the person that Liv was. And Liv had let it happen. She had gotten rid of the pink hair and the blue tongue. She got rid of the punk style clothing and listened to music that Lana enjoyed. All because Lana was willing to pay attention to her. Lana was willing to let her ride with her, share hotel rooms with her, workout with her. 

Lana had been there, a warm body when everything else was cold. And Liv had bought into everything Lana was saying. Every time Lana said she loved Liv, she had believed it. But now, with how quickly Lana had dumped her to go to Bobby, Liv had to wonder if any of it was real. And Liv knew she should have called Ruby like she wanted when she found out that Lana was dating Bobby. She should have reached out to the older woman for the comfort and support that Ruby always gave. 

She should have, but she didn’t. Because that would be opening herself back up to pain and heartache that she didn’t need right then. But if she had… maybe Ruby’s return would have been different. Maybe it would have been happier. Maybe…

Liv shook her head and pulled away from Sarah. “I’m sorry I cried all over you.”

Sarah smiled sadly and shook her head. “You can cry on me anytime you want, little one. Now let’s go get you into some comfortable clothes and I’ll drive you back to the hotel, okay?”

“But what about Rowe?”

“I already texted him and he said he would pick us up some food when he’s done with his match. So let’s go. Your match may not have been super long, but you still kinda stink,” Sarah chuckled a little as she poked Liv in the ribs. 

Liv let a small smile tug at her lips as she let Sarah lead her to the women’s locker room, her arm slung over Liv’s shoulders protectively. “Think he can pick up some ice cream too?”

Sarah laughed. “There’s my girl. It was already on his list. Now start thinking about what TV show you want to watch when we get back because we’re having a marathon and you get to pick.”

“Can we watch Invader Zim?”

Sarah leaned over and kissed the side of Liv’s head. “Of course. Whatever you want to watch.”

They walked into the locker room, both thankful that Ruby had been given her own for the night. Liv went to pick up her bag and change quickly out of her gear.

Sarah took this opportunity to text Ruby to find out where her friend’s head was at.  _ What the fuck was that, Riott? _

  
  


____________________________________________________________________________

  
  


Ruby walked away from Sarah Schreiber, a smile still plastered on her face as she made her way to her locker room. She felt good, untouchable, free now that Liv understood all the pain she had put Ruby through in the last few years. Of course, this hadn’t been the plan, but Ruby couldn’t bring herself to care about that right now. All that mattered was that she finally move on from all of the unrequited bullshit she had been putting up with for so long. 

She opened her locker room and ignored the buzzing of her phone from the end table by the couch. She reached down and opened her bag, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt to change into before she went back to the hotel for the night. It was her debut after being gone for a year, so she knew that there would be fans that would be waiting outside for her. And that was not something that Ruby was in the mood to deal with at the moment. 

Granted she wasn’t as popular as Becky or Charlotte, but there would still be people who wanted to know why she turned on Liv. And that was a question she wasn’t ready to answer for the public yet. So if she could slip past all of them and make it to the hotel without being disturbed, then she would consider this night a win.

The phone buzzed two more times in quick succession, which drew Ruby’s attention. It seemed like the WWE universe weren’t the only ones who wanted some answers. She rolled her eyes and pulled on her pants. It wasn’t anyone’s business but her own. 

It wasn’t until the phone buzzed three more times that Ruby finally snatched it up, seeing that she had three texts from Sarah and three notifications from Twitter. She bypassed Sarah’s texts to open Twitter first. 

One of the notifications were from WWE Insider recapping parts of the episode, with Ruby’s betrayal front and center. The other was some asinine tweet from Lana making the whole segment about her and Bobby somehow. But the third is the one that caught her eye and made her stop in her tracks. 

It was a tweet from Liv. It wasn’t long or eloquent in its construction, but the content of it hit hard. It was a close up picture of Liv looking sad with a blurry Ruby in the background. The words “Squad, huh?” were written underneath the picture. 

Ruby sighed heavily as she sat down on the couch, her previous feeling of self-righteousness suddenly gone as she deflated. The reality of the situation finally hit her, and the fog of anger lifted. 

_ She had hit Liv. _

She had struck the woman she loved out of fear, out of anger, out of a need to make Liv hurt as much as she had been hurt. She had let her temper get the best of her and she had humiliated Liv on national television in front of the WWE Universe. All because Ruby herself had felt humiliated by the situation. 

“Fuck,” Ruby whispered to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. The guilt and embarrassment rose to take the place of the confidence she had been feeling moments before. This is not how she wanted to handle the situation, but now that she was in it, there might be no way to go back.

She sighed, suddenly afraid to see what Sarah had texted her. She put it off for a few seconds before she decided that it was better to just pull the bandage off and be done with it. She clicked on their text thread and groaned. 

_ What the fuck was that, Riott? _

_ She’s crying, Ruby. She’s devastated, and confused, and fucking sobbing. _

_ I hope you’re proud of yourself. I thought you loved her? _

Ruby closed the text app and tossed the phone onto the couch next to her. She buried her head in her hands and let the tears she had been holding back finally fall. She had made a terrible mistake, and there was a chance that the damage was irreparable at this point. 

Another buzz from her phone had her grabbing desperately for it. She couldn’t deny the surge of hope and fear that shot through her at the slim chance it might be Liv reaching out. Her heart dropped when she saw it was another text from Sarah. 

_ The silent treatment, huh? Real mature, Rubes. We’re going back to the hotel in case you gave a fuck and maybe wanted to fix this. _

Ruby closed her eyes and hastily typed out a response of:  _ I had my reasons _ . She quickly hit send before she could second guess herself, hoping that it would be enough to keep Sarah from coming after her. She needed a little bit of time to figure out exactly how to fix this massive fuck up she had created. Ruby groaned again and leaned back against the couch. This was definitely not how she saw her return to RAW going.

  
  


_______________

  
  


It had been a week since Ruby’s return to RAW. A week of Liv posting sad pictures on Instagram and Twitter, obviously trying to get a response out of Ruby. And a week of Ruby ducking contact with almost everyone. Her phone had been buzzing non-stop all week from text messages and calls. Some were work-related, some were from the other Superstars checking in to see if she was okay. More than a few were from Stephanie and Hunter, chewing her out for changing the storyline on the fly. But most were from Sarah, confronting her about what she did, yelling at her, pleading with her to just let her know she was okay. 

Ruby had answered that last one, but only enough to reassure her friend that she was still alive. But she couldn’t talk about what she had done. Not yet. She wasn’t even really sure why that had been her response. She just knew that she wanted Liv to hurt like she had been hurt, but that couldn’t be right. She  _ never _ wanted to hurt Liv, and had even attacked anyone who had hurt the blonde… several times.

But how was she supposed to protect Liv from herself? She couldn’t. So she did the next best thing and stayed away from the smaller woman. The last thing she wanted to do was see Liv and go into a rage again. Until she was sure that she could control whatever the fuck had happened, she didn’t want to be anywhere near Liv. Which didn’t help because she knew that the longer she avoided the issue, the worse the situation was going to be.

Now it was time for another RAW, and time for Ruby to give an interview that explained her actions the previous week. She was kind of glad that she didn’t have a match that night because she wasn’t sure she would be able to focus enough for her to perform safely with anyone. And knowing how hard it was to be out on injury, it was the last thing she wanted to happen to another wrestler because she couldn’t focus. 

Ruby had gotten ready early on in the night even though her interview wasn’t slotted until later on in the show. But Liv was floating around somewhere even though she wasn’t scheduled to have a match. Being ready early meant that Ruby could focus more on ducking both Liv and Sarah by hiding out in hallways and forgotten corners of the arena. 

One of the production team members found her lurking around some audio equipment crates to tell her that her segment was going to be in five minutes. Ruby thanked him and then followed him to where Sarah Schreiber was set up and waiting for her. Ruby smiled and nodded at the other woman while they waited for the signal from the camera crew that they were live. 

The fix that Creative had come up with was simple. Ruby was supposed to cover up her attacking Liv by saying that Liv needed to be reminded of where she belonged: following behind Ruby. It was going to hurt to have to say that because Ruby truly believed that Liv shouldn’t follow anyone. No, Liv should be standing by her side as her partner in crime, just like she always had been. 

But Ruby’s jealousy and anger had gotten the better of her and she tossed her chance of getting that back right out the window. So this time Ruby stuck to the script. That way Liv wouldn’t be blindsided again. Creative would get the feud they wanted to cover up Ruby’s fuck up. And Ruby would… well, Ruby would wallow in the terrible choices she made a week ago until she and Liv only communicated concerning work and nothing else. 

Once the camera lights were off and the production team was walking away, Ruby thanked Sarah and then started towards the parking garage. She hadn’t brought any of her luggage in with her because she knew she wasn’t going to be doing much tonight. Plus it allowed her to beat a hasty retreat to the hotel before anyone could stop and confront her. 

She kept her head down and maneuvered her way through the larger wrestlers that were milling around backstage. Usually, she hated how small she was, especially when she was in the ring with the likes of Charlotte, Bayley and Lacey Evans, but in situations like this, it let her move through the crowd unnoticed. She made it to the exit door and froze. 

Liv was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring right at Ruby. Ruby swallowed once, hard. Her breath getting caught in her throat at how gorgeous Liv looked with this new character she was working. 

“So I’m a dog now, huh Ruby?”

Ruby winced at the anger and pain that was clear in Liv’s voice. “I… it’s what I was given to say.”

“Yeah, after you apparently changed the script on them last week,” Liv scoffed at her ex-best friend. “Didn’t think I’d find out about that, did you?”

Ruby sighed and hung her head, her shoulders slumping forward as she tried to curl in on herself. “I don’t know what you want me to say right now, Liv.”

Liv rolled her eyes as she walked over to Ruby and stood squarely in front of her. “How about you start with what the fuck last week was about! Or why you’ve been avoiding my calls and texts! Or maybe, you can explain where the fuck my best friend went and who the hell this is standing in front of me, because it sure as hell isn’t the Ruby Riott I know,” Liv spit out.

“Oh?” Ruby’s eyes shot up and connected with Liv’s. “Not the Ruby you know? You’re right, it’s not. But that’s what happens when your best friend stops talking to you for no reason. It’s what happens when you find out your best friend has been lying to you the entire time you’ve known each other.”

Ruby stepped right up in Liv’s face and jabbed her finger into the blonde’s chest. “It’s what happens when you find out your  _ best friend  _ has been seeing Lana of all fucking people.”

She moved to step around Liv and headed toward the door. “ **_This_ ** Ruby Riott is of your own creation, Liv. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

Ruby pushed her way through the exit door and onto the first level of the parking garage. That wasn’t how she had wanted her first actual conversation with Liv to go, but Liv accusing her of changing, of ghosting her was too much. She wasn’t going to sit there and let Liv blame her for everything. She wanted to say that this was all Liv’s fault, but she knew it was a pretty even split. She also knew she should’ve apologized and just come clean. But apologizing would lead to explaining, and explaining would lead to the truth. 

And Ruby wasn’t ready for the truth to come out. Not yet, and at this rate… not ever.

She was going to let them stay amicable for work, to avoid confrontation with the other woman, but Liv had apparently had other plans. And Ruby wasn’t going to take that, no matter how much she loved the blonde. She had already spent way too many years bending over backward to accommodate her only to have it thrown back in her face. So she wasn’t going to do it anymore. No, Liv was on her own at this point as far as Ruby was concerned.

Ruby unlocked her car and reached for the handle, just barely pulling it open before it was slammed shut by another hand on the window. Ruby turned, fully expecting it to be Sarah coming to give her a piece of her mind. 

“You do not get to walk away from me like that, Riott. Not after all we’ve been through. I deserve an explanation!” Liv yelled as she positioned herself between Ruby and the car door when Ruby had tried to open it again. 

“You deserve? You deserve? Are you kidding me right now!? If anyone deserves an explanation it’s me!” Ruby yelled right back.

Liv flinched back slightly at the tone of Ruby’s voice, she had never actually yelled at Liv before, even though Liv had constantly yelled at the brunette. She might have been startled, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to back down. Not now that she finally had Ruby’s attention. “What explanation do you think you deserve? Did I come and attack you when you least expected it!? No, I don’t recall doing that,” Liv shook her head.

Ruby scoffed. “You honestly have no idea, do you? That’s rich. So how about we start with something simple. You ghosted me after I told you I needed a second surgery. Sound familiar? I had called my best friend, stupidly expecting her to comfort me and assure me that it was going to be okay and I got ditched a few seconds later. Then nothing… radio silence.” 

“Sound familiar?” Ruby asked sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

That seemed to take some of the fight out of Liv. “Okay, I deserved that, but I can explain.”

“Oh? Please do. I’d love to hear it,” Ruby said as she threw her hands up in the air and started to pace now that her avenue of escape had been blocked off. She could feel her anxiety creeping up and she just wanted to leave, but Liv seemed to have other plans. 

“I was… hey, stop for a second,” Liv reached out to stop Ruby from moving around. They had been around each other enough for Liv to recognize the signs of Ruby’s mind getting away from her. Just like Ruby knew when Liv needed it as well. So she did what they always did to comfort and reassure the other one, she put her hand on Ruby’s arm. What she wasn’t expecting was for Ruby to jerk violently away from her and send her a glare that shocked Liv to her core. 

“Okay, no touching. Got it,” Liv sighed as she put her hands up in surrender. “Look, I needed time to adjust to the thought of you being gone for longer. Originally we planned for a few months and it suddenly turned into close to a year. I… I didn’t know how I was going to survive without you here,” Liv pleaded with her friend. 

“So I needed to figure that out. And then one text turned into two, turned into three… and I didn’t know how to reconnect after so much time went by. I was scared, Rue-Rue. I was scared, and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

“You were scared…unbelievable. It’s always about you, isn’t it?” Ruby asked as she shook her head and continued to pace. 

“I… what? I don’t understand.”

Ruby turned and stared at Liv, her face twisting in a look of incredulity. “It’s always about you. It’s always been about you. Everything I have done, it’s been about you and for you! You just don’t --” she shook her head and turned away, her mouth shut tightly against the words that wanted to tumble out. She had cracked the lid on the box, and now her feelings were trying to make a quick escape, seeming to clamor for the surface so they could be finally spoken into existence. 

“Ruby,” Liv said softly as she tried to approach her friend again. She had a feeling there was something a lot deeper than a few missed phone calls and texts going on here. 

“Don’t. Just,” Ruby put her hands up and stepped away from Liv. “Just don’t, okay? You obviously made your choice. So go. Go makeup with Lana, and just leave me alone.”

Liv pulled up short from where she had been trying to reach out to her friend again. “Lana? What does she have to do with any of this?”

Ruby laughed a cold and self-deprecating sound that cut through the otherwise quiet parking garage. “You really are that naive, aren’t you? Good God, Creative wasn’t too far off the mark tonight.”

“Hey!” Liv stepped into Ruby’s space again, the anger back in her eyes. “Knock off whatever this act is. It’s mean and spiteful, and I don’t like it.” 

“This…” Ruby stopped to growl, her frustration growing at not only failing to articulate what she was feeling but also Liv’s inability to read what wasn’t being said. “This isn’t an act, Liv. This is me now, and I can’t help it.”

“No,” Liv shook her head emphatically. “This isn’t you. The Ruby I know wouldn’t hurt me on purpose, which is exactly what you’re trying to do. Why are you trying to hurt me, Rue?”

Ruby huffed and licked her bottom lip before she bit on it. She turned her eyes away from Liv. “Because you hurt me, Liv. For years you’ve been hurting me whether you knew it or not, you’ve been hurting me since day one.”

“What?” Liv asked, breathless and looking like she had just been stabbed in the stomach. “What do you mean?”

Ruby could feel the truth struggling to come out, she could feel herself losing control of the situation, and control was all she had left at this moment. So she shook her head instead. “It doesn’t matter. I waited and waited and waited and you never saw it. I accept I lost, but please…  _ please  _ just give me some space.”

Liv took a breath as she stepped closer to Ruby, her hands reaching out and gently grasping her friend’s hips. She exhaled shakily in relief when Ruby didn’t push her away. “No. If I hurt you, I want to know about it. So talk to me, Rue. What were you waiting for?”

Liv felt her heart break when Ruby’s face fell in defeat and her eyes clouded in resignation. Liv slowly moved one of her hands up to cup Ruby’s cheek. “Please, Ruby. I need to know how to fix this. What were you waiting for?”

“You to see me.”

It was said so quietly and with such vulnerability that Liv would have missed it if she hadn’t been standing so close. “I… I don’t understand. I see you. I see the real you.”

“No,” Ruby shook her head. “You don’t. You missed the biggest part of me, and that’s not your fault because I got so good at hiding it.”

Liv could feel the change in the atmosphere. The kind of change that shifted the temperature of the room and made you feel like you were on the edge of something major. The kind of change that would be a major turning point in their lives. A before and after moment. 

“Hiding what?”

Ruby shook her head. “I can’t. Please, just let it go and we can go back to being friends and forget this ever happened.”

“What were you hiding from me, Ruby. Please, I need to know so I can fix it. You shouldn’t be the one who always has to fix everything, so, please! Let me help you. Tell me what you were hiding from--”   
  
Liv was cut off mid-sentence as Ruby’s lips crashed into hers. It was rough and awkward and had completely taken Liv off guard. So off guard that she didn’t register what was truly happening until Ruby started to pull away, mumbling apologies into the space between them. She could see that Ruby was about to shut down and run away from her, so she did the only thing she could think to do.

She pulled Ruby’s head back to hers and kissed her. 

Ruby grunted as Liv practically threw herself at her with so much force that she stumbled back into the car. She reached back and steadied herself against the car door as Liv’s fingers tangled in her hair and tried to pull her closer. 

Ruby immediately followed and slid her fingers into Liv’s belt loops, tugging her as close as she could get before she wrapped her arms around Liv’s shoulders. 

Liv whimpered into the kiss. The first one had been rushed and panicked and over way too fast. This one… this one hit every kissing cliché that ever existed. There were fireworks, there was a heat that pooled in Liv’s stomach, there was electricity and safety and security. 

There was belonging. It felt like she was home. 

“That,” Ruby panted when she finally pulled away, needing to catch her breath. She leaned her forehead against Liv’s, the need to stay in contact with the blonde was overwhelming. “That was what I was hiding from you.”

“How long?” Liv asked in awe, still shocked by what happened.

“Pretty much since day one.”

Liv blinked and pulled back slightly, her thumbs rubbing gently over Ruby’s cheeks when the now green-haired wrestler tried to follow. “Look at me, please.”

Ruby shook her head. “I can’t.”

Liv chuckled slightly. “Why not?”

“I don’t want to see the look on your face when you tell me I’m wasting my time,” Ruby answered, her body seeming to deflate more and more with each word.

“Rue-Rue, look at me, please. I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Ruby’s eyes finally fluttered open, and Liv smiled sadly at her, her thumb reaching up to wipe at the tears that had formed in Ruby’s eyes. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“You said you were straight, that you weren’t into girls. So I kept my mouth shut out of respect for you. I was okay just having you as a friend until I found out about Lana.” Ruby heaved out a sigh. “That’s what last week was about. I was devastated that you had chosen her over me, and I snapped. I am so, so sorry for that, Little One.”

Liv cracked a watery smile at the pet name she hadn’t heard in so long. “It’s okay. I think I get it now. But Ruby… I only said I wasn’t into women so that way I didn’t cause any drama in the Squad.”

“What?”

Liv shook her head. “Since day one for me too, you dummy. But I didn’t think you were interested and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship so I said I didn’t like women. I thought I was making it easier on both of us.”

“How could I not be interested?” Ruby asked, confused.

“I wasn’t exactly subtle, babe.”

Ruby blinked a few times and quickly replayed some of their interactions. She mentally face palmed herself when she realized that Liv was right. “Well, I was an idiot.”

“Yes, you kind of were,” Liv giggled.

“Hey!” Ruby protested as she poked Liv in the side.

Liv laughed harder as she squirmed away from Ruby. “Don’t! You know I’m ticklish!”

Ruby tightened her grip on Liv and pulled her into a hug. “So what now?”

Liv sighed and buried her nose into Ruby’s neck, content on breathing in the calming scent that was just so Ruby. “I’m not sure. I’m still hurting over Lana, but I… I think I want to explore this with you.”

Ruby squeezed her gently and then placed a kiss on her temple. “Okay, on your time Liv. No rush, okay? I’ll be here waiting for when you’re ready.”

Liv nodded and pulled away from the hug, her hand reaching down and taking Ruby’s. “But first, you need to apologize to Sarah. She’s been mad at you all week.”

Ruby followed along behind her friend, a look of dread on her face. “Well, fuck.”

“And I need to tell Lana to fuck off because the Squad is getting back together! Squad, Squad!” Liv yelled with her head thrown back as they made their way back into the arena.

Ruby laughed and squeezed Liv’s hand. This wasn’t exactly how she had planned to return to RAW, and it definitely wasn’t how she had planned on admitting her feelings to Liv. But the end result had been just messy enough, just chaotic enough that it fit them perfectly. What was the Squad if not chaos personified? Besides, she had gotten the girl in the end, so maybe she hadn’t messed up her plan too badly after all. 


End file.
